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After more than 30 years as a pastor, ecumenist and church leader, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit firmly believes that the church can change the world. As general secretary of the WCC for the past ten years, he has witnessed what Jesus Christ means to people of faith around the globe. By the end of this month he heads home to lead the Church of Norway as presiding bishop of its bishop’s conference.

مع بداية هذا الأسبوع الجديد، يتحدث الأمين العام لمجلس الكنائس العالمي، القس الدكتور أولاف فيكيس تفيت، عن مسألة تغير عمل مجلس الكنائس العالمي خلال جائحة فيروس كورونا.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit invites all member churches for a joint prayer, saying the Lord’s Prayer together on Wednesday 25 March at noon.

In a pastoral letter to WCC member churches and ecumenical partners, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and WCC moderator Dr Agnes Abuom urged people to give highest priority to “doing whatever we can do to protect life” and “This is a time to touch each other’s hearts, by what we say, what we share, what we do – and what we do not do – to protect the life God loves so much.”

As the world grapples with the spread of the new coronavirus, churches are finding ways to continue their traditions, but now by virtual means. On the coming Sabbath, churches around the world will engage in prayer, not publicly – as the church moves out of big public buildings – but inside the private spaces of homes.

Auf seinem ökumenischen Weg hat Georges ,Yorgo‘ Lemopoulos unter fünf Generalsekretären für den ÖRK gearbeitet; für drei von ihnen als stellvertretender Generalsekretär. Er war außerdem Co-Koordinator für die Feierlichkeiten zum 70-jährigen Bestehen des ÖRK. Lemopoulos macht sich Gedanken dazu, wie wichtig es ist, die Dokumente der ÖRK-Leitungsgremien zu digitalisieren und wie die Digitalisierung dazu beitragen kann, uns alle besser über die reichhaltige Geschichte eines globalen ökumenischen Pilgerwegs aufzuklären.

In the past several months, beginning with an epidemic that quickly became an emergency situation, COVID-19 has escalated into a global crisis, spreading fear and uncertainty everywhere.

The WCC, via a specific landing page on its website, is reaching out to the worldwide fellowship with a sense of pastoral care amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to require the world to protect its most vulnerable people, the reality of undernourishment faces more than 820 million people in the world. This increases vulnerability in our one human family. Dr Manoj Kurian, coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, reflects on the current state of food security.

People pray daily for an end to the coronavirus-COVID-19 that is gripping the world, turning human interaction into a virtual affair and upending lives everywhere during a struggle against a silent enemy about which little is known.

Church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark signed a statement demanding that we take “human responsibility” for refugees on the border between Turkey and Greece.

Women in Chile have been subject to violence, forced nudity, humiliation and even rape in the framework of the social protests taking place in the nation since last October, said Chilean theologian and lawyer Cecilia Castillo Nanjari.

A German delegation comprised of representatives of municipalities, church leaders and prominent civil society organizations recently visited the Greek island of Lesbos, already hosting tens of thousands of migrants and displaced people, and was on site when the news of the opening of the Turkish border was announced and the first new arrivals were appearing.

Following a deal reached between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016, Turkey has been taking measures to prevent migrants – many of them fleeing the conflict in Syria – from reaching the EU, in exchange for European aid for migrants and refugees, and for relaxation of EU visa requirements for Turkish citizens. On Friday 28 February, after military losses in north-west Syria – where Turkey has been trying to create a safe area to resettle millions of Syrian refugees and to serve Turkish interests against the Kurds – those measures were suspended, resulting in large numbers of people attempting to cross into Greece and consequent clashes with Greek security forces.

On 6 March, Christian women from 170 countries will observe a World Day of Prayer, drawing millions of people together for a healing message in a divisive world.

The 2020 theme is “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk,” based on John 5:2-9a, and has been crafted by the World Day of Prayer Zimbabwe Committee. Each year, materials are developed ecumenically and collectively within a certain country in coordination with the World Day of Prayer International Committee.

The Council of the Protestant Church in Switzerland and the Permanent Committee on Consensus and Cooperation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) will jointly honor the visionary work of Pastor Adolf Keller (1872-1963) at a colloquium. A hundred years ago, Keller, a pioneer of the ecumenical movement, was a trailblazer for both the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and the WCC.

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly preparations progress, the Assembly Worship Planning Committee together with the WCC Youth Engagement programme are presenting a creative opportunity to young people between the ages of 18 and 35 who attend a WCC member church, inviting them to enter a song writing competition. This is part of efforts and initiatives involving and engaging young people in the planning and delivery of the assembly; they can be a part of the ecumenical movement with their young voices through music.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Permanent Committee on Consensus and Collaboration will meet from 25 February - 2 March at Kartause Ittingen, Switzerland. The committee will share its preparations for the WCC 11th Assembly to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany in September 2021. The group will also make decisions regarding a report to the assembly.

The leadership of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee will meet on 19-21 February at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

The WCC has welcomed four new programme executives.